Night 9 of the Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween

 

Welcome to night 9 of the 3rd annual Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween. Make sure to stop by our Giveaway Post and enter to win a $400+ Prize Pack full of frightfully good treats from 24 spooktacular shops! Tonight we have the next movie from the Halloween Movie Marathon. Follow along for an extra 10 entries in the giveaway and play the Guess The Movie game for even more. We also have the next clue in the Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt. Gather clues for daily entries and a surprise at the end of the giveaway. But that's not all! Keep reading to find the next feature on one of our participating shops. Visit us each day during October so you do not miss any of the fun.

Mark Of The Vampire Necklace - Style A  $16

Purchase any item(s) from Laughing Vixen Lounge through October 31st and get 10% off your order. Use code OTOBER10 at checkout.

 

Today is the last day to enter our Fall Fahsionista Giveaway!!! There are 5 chances to win a Laughing Vixen Lounge Gift Certificate. Follow the links below but hurry, they all end at midnight tonight (EST).

Giveaway #1 ~ $150 Gift Certificate ~ Enter here on the Laughing Vixen Lounge blog.
Giveaway #2 ~ $65 Gift Certificate ~ Enter here on the Sweeping The US blog.
Giveaway #3 ~ $65 Gift Certificate ~ Enter here on the Whirlwind of Surprises blog.
Giveaway #4 ~ $40 Gift Certificate ~ Enter here on the Keenly Kristin blog.
Giveaway #5 ~ $35 Gift Certificate ~ Enter here on the Free and Frugal Mommy of One blog.

Scares That Care
In addition to having lots of fun we want to try and do a little good too Many of our shops have chosen a charity to fund raise for. A certain percentage or dollar amount of each sale made through the participating shops, during the giveaway, will be donated to the charity of their choice. You will find each shops details on the main Giveaway Post and on their shop feature.

Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt - Night 9
Our scavenger hunt will work like the game Clue this year. Every week you will be looking for clues to a different part of the mystery ~ Settings, Suspects, Rooms, Weapons and Escapes. They will be hidden within an item listing inside one of our participating shops. On each daily post you will be given a hint as to where the main clue is hiding. Once you find the clue go to the main Giveaway Post and find that night's entry on the Rafflecopter widget. You must leave the clue through the Rafflecopter! Do not post the clue anywhere on the blog. If you do it will be deleted and will not count. If you have any questions just ask.

Make sure to keep a list of all the clues as you collect them. On the last day of the giveaway you will be able to submit your guess of how the murder happened. Anyone who actually guesses correctly will win a Surprise Goodie Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. These goodie bags are made to suit your taste and usually end up being at least a $50 value! You can start the scavenger hunt game at anytime during the giveaway and go back to find past clues. Clues will stay posted through the entire giveaway.

Night 9
The usual suspects.
This week you will be collecting clues to the suspects of the crime.

Tonight's clue is hiding in Trinkets By Dana.
Need a little help finding the clue?  Sail away.

Featured Shop - Retroreve/Trinkets By Dana

Retroreve and Trinkets By Dana  are run by Dana from Atlanta, GA. Her shop is filled with paper crafts, decor for parties and weddings, jewelry & accessories and original art/prints/fine art photography.

Let's Be Adventurers  Mini Art Poster  $16

How did you choose your shop name?
"My shop is like an antique shop-- you never know what you will find. I knew I would want to try a million different projects so I didn't want a name that would imply just one craft. I went with trinkets because it really embodies my shop's tangents well while reminding people that the little things are worth treasuring and being happy about. Now this is obviously a pun for the small items in my shop and the wonderful things in everyday life we tend to ignore or take for granted."

Anchor Chain Cuff  $3.50

Why did you choose to make/sell what you do?
"I got on Etsy my freshman year of college to just look around and de-stress. I got inspired nonstop and knew right away what I wanted to try making so I thought why not sell it? Why not share it with the world? And 2-3 years down the line, here I am!"

Floral Cafe Mini Print Set  $30

What inspires the designs/creations you make?
"Anything and everything! You should never feel limited in inspiration. When I'm taking a drive, I look at architecture/nature we tend to miss out on during everyday chores like the architectural details of downtown skyscrapers or the colors of sunset/flowers. I also love going to home decor/furniture stores (or skimming their magazines) because they have a combination of art and architecture to browse through-- plus I love home supplies."

Adventurer Necklace  $7

What new designs/creations would you like to add to your shop in the future?
" I love following new trends in fashion and trying to get a head start on incorporating those fresh concepts or colors into my work. For example, we went owl crazy this year with accessories."

Cupcake Ear Plug  $4

Retroreve will be donating $1 from all purchase during October to Autism Speaks. Purchase a pair of Friendly Ghost Earrings and $3 will be donated.

Friendly Ghost Earrings  $5

You'll have a chance to win any 2 pairs of earrings from Retroreve. Enter now on the main Giveaway Post. 

Katniss Arrow Earrings  $6

Visit Retroreve and Trinkets By Dana and use coupon code VIXEN15 at checkout for 15% off your order (Etsy store only).

Since it's Halloween I asked the shops to share their favorite spooky movie.
"I've never been much for scary movies since I over think them and dread being alone or walking through ark hallways for at least a month... haha! I don't mind suspense or thriller so for this year, I enjoyed World War Z's take on zombies-- very different from the other mainstream media concepts. That scene with the wall getting invaded by zombies climbing all over each other always makes me cringe. I bet I'm not alone!"

 

Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween Movie Marathon.
Follow along with us for a month full of classic and modern spooky movies. For something a little different this year we have decided to do themed weeks. Week 1 ~ Zombies, Week 2 ~ Werewolves and Vampires, Week 3 ~ Stephen King, Week 4 ~ Classic Double Features and Week 5 ~ Lounge Favorites.

On each daily post there will be a review of the next movie in our movie marathon. Leave a comment on each post with your opinion of that movie. On the last day of the giveaway you will find the Magic Phrase you will use to unlock the entry on the main Giveaway Post worth 10 entries. You must comment on each movie post to qualify.

Guess The Movie Game
This year we decided not to post the movie list in full so we can play a fun game instead. Each daily post will have a clue to the next night's movie. Leave your guess on the Rafflecopter widget, on the main Giveaway Post, for 1 entry in the giveaway. Please do not post guesses anywhere else on the blog or they will be deleted and not count.

**Guesses must be posted the same day as their clue to receive the entry** Rafflecopter runs on Eastern Standard Time. You can only post 1 guess per 24 hour period. So if you miss a day you can not make it up.

Tonight's Clue ~ "That guy playing the Vampire is a real "method" actor!"


Week 2 ~ Werewolves and Vampires

Night 9 - Dracula (1931)

Tagline - Carl Laemmle Presents The VAMPIRE THRILLER!
              The story of the strangest passion the world has ever known!


Directed by Tod Browning (Freaks and Mark of the Vampire) and released on February 14, 1931 by Universal Studios (not rated). Mr. Renfield (Dwight Frye) travels to Transylvania to close a real estate deal with Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi). Unfortunately the count is a Vampire and Mr. Renfield is doomed to be his human servant and accompany him as he journeys to London.

I love that this was released on Valentines day! Ha!

"Listen to them, children of the night. What music they make!" We can now add this line to the Night of the living Dead and The Wolf Man on the list of most iconic lines in horror movie history. This is my favorite part of the movie and is one of the best in all of movie history! Bela Lugosi delivers the line with such beauty.

This is the classic. Bela Lugosi reprises his stage role for Universal's movie version of the novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker, and created what has become the definitive look of the character. Dapper, charming and romantic with that thick Romanian accent. A far cry from the earlier 1922 Nosferatu which presents the count as a very creepy long-fingered, rat-toothed bald dead guy (this version gives me nightmares!). Unfortunately for Lugosi this image defined his carer and limited him to an long list of B horror films.

The movie looks wonderful with great sets, beautiful costumes and plenty of spooky atmosphere. A standout performance is given by Dwight Frye as Renfield. An absolute joy to watch as the count's mad servant. If you've seen it, watch it again. If you have not seen it you must!


The original trailer.



Some trivia about the movie.
1. When Bela Lugosi died in 1956, he was buried wearing the black silk cape he wore for this film.
2. When Universal purchased the rights to the 1927 Broadway play, Lon Chaney was considered for the title role. However, Chaney died on August 26, 1930, and the role went to Bela Lugosi.
3. A Spanish-language version, Drácula, was filmed at night on the same set at the same time, with Spanish-speaking actors.
4. Cinematographer Karl Freund achieved the effect of Dracula's hypnotic stare by aiming two pencil-spot-lights into actor Bela Lugosi's eyes.
5. The Royal Albert Hall sequence of the movie was filmed on the same stage where The Phantom of the Opera starring Lon Chaney had been filmed.
6. The large, expansive sets built for the Transylvania castle and Carfax Abbey sequences remained standing after filming was completed, and were used by Universal Pictures for many other movies for over a decade.
7. Bela Lugosi was so desperate to repeat his stage success and play the Count Dracula role for the film version, that he agreed to a contract paying him $500 per week for a seven week shooting schedule, an insultingly small amount even during the days of the Depression.
8. Bela Lugosi played the role of Dracula on Broadway in 1927 before touring the country with the show. The American performance of the British stage actor Hamilton Deane's adaptation of the book was a smashing success. Soon after the play began touring Universal started to express interest in the script.
9. The spider webs in Dracula's castle were created by shooting rubber cement from a rotary gun.
10. Similar to the prologue in Frankenstein, the original release featured an epilogue with Edward Van Sloan talking to the audience about what they have just seen. This was removed for the 1936 re-release and is now assumed to be lost.
11. There was no real musical soundtrack in the film because it was believed that, with sound being such a recent innovation in films, the audience would not accept hearing music in a scene if there was no explanation for it being there (e.g., the orchestra playing off camera when Dracula meets Mina at the theater).
12. Several famous elements often associated with Dracula are not visible in this film. At no point does Dracula display fangs. Also, the famous vampire bite mark on the neck is never shown either (though it is visible in the Spanish version).
13. Although it was his most famous role, Bela Lugosi played Dracula only once more on screen, in the comedy Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein. However, he played Dracula-like characters in movies such as The Return of the Vampire and Plan 9 from Outer Space.
14. This Universal production became the most famous and successful film to pair David Manners with Helen Chandler. The pair had made two films at Warner Brothers/First National and one at Fox.
15. The peasants inside the inn are praying The Lord's Prayer in Hungarian.
16. Bette Davis (who had a contract at Universal at the time) was considered to play the part of Mina Harker. However, Universal head Carl Laemmle Jr. didn't think too highly of her sex appeal.
17. The opening music to this film is from Act 2 of Swan Lake.
18. In the scene where Dracula and Renfield are traveling to London by boat, the footage shown is borrowed from a Universal silent film called The Storm Breaker. Silent films were projected at a different frames-per-second speed from that later adopted for sound films, accounting for the jerky movements and quicker-than-normal action of these shots.
19. In the first scene, the young woman reading from the tourist book was played by Carla Laemmle, niece of Carl Laemmle, founder and head of Universal Pictures.
20.  When Carl Laemmle moved Universal to California in 1914, a version of "Dracula" was one of the first projects being considered. It was over fifteen years before this version was produced.
21. The movie's line "Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make." was voted as the #83 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).
22. Universal's original plan was to make a big-budget adaptation of "Dracula" that would strictly adhere to the Bram Stoker novel. However, after the stock market crash of 1929 and the beginning of the Great Depression, Universal chose not to risk an investment on such a sprawling film. Instead, it adapted the much less expensive Hamilton Deane stage play.
23. Universal acquired the film rights to "Dracula" from Bram Stoker's widow and the play's writer Hamilton Deane for $40,000.
24. Before he was cast as Count Dracula, Bela Lugosi acted as an unpaid intermediary for Universal Pictures in negotiating with the widow of author Bram Stoker in an attempt to persuade her to lower her asking price for the filming rights to the Dracula property. After two months of negotiations, Mrs. Stoker reportedly lowered her price from $200,000 to $60,000. This, however, further demonstrated to Universal how desperate Lugosi was to repeat his stage success as Count Dracula and secure the film role for himself.
25. Apparently morose over the loss of friend and collaborator Lon Chaney and in the midst of severe alcoholism, the normally meticulous Tod Browning was said to have been sullen and unprofessional during the shoot. Among his actions were to leave set, leaving cinematographer Karl Freund to direct scenes. He would also recklessly tear pages out of the script if he felt them to be redundant.
26. The original Broadway production of "Dracula" starring Bela Lugosi opened at the Fulton Theater on October 5, 1927 and ran for 261 performances. Also in the original cast was Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing and Herbert Bunston as Doctor Seward. These three were the only actors from the original 1927 Broadway production to repeat their roles in the film.
27.  Edward Van Sloan and Dwight Frye also appeared in the horror classic Frankenstein. They are the only 2 actors to have appeared in both films.
28. Among the living creatures we see in Dracula's castle in Transylvania are Opossums, Armadillos, and an insect known as a Jerusalem Cricket (Stenopalmatus Fuscus). This insect was common in Southern California, which may explain its cameo in the film.
29. When this film was re-released after the Production Code was strictly enforced in 1934, several deletions were ordered made to the soundtrack. The deletions include Renfield's scream as he is being killed and Dracula's moan as the stake is driven through his heart. These deletions have been restored.
30.  The studio did not want the scene where Dracula attacks Renfield to be filmed due to the perceived gay subtext of the situation. A memo was sent to the director stating "Dracula is only to attack women".
31. The shooting script features a scene not found in the film in which Van Helsing kills Lucy following her transformation into a vampire. In the scene, Van Helsing brings John into the graveyard to prove the existence of vampires. There, they witness Lucy walking into a mausoleum. After consoling John, Van Helsing pulls a parcel from his pocket and makes clear his intentions to follow Lucy and destroy her. At this point, the film was to have cut back to a scene of Dracula abducting Mina.
32. Carla Laemmle is the only living cast member of this film. At the age of 103 this makes her the longest-living person to work on the film. She is the last surviving cast member of both The Phantom of the Opera (1925) and Dracula (1931).